Track surfacing scope



p 1956 J. MCMILLAN 2,763,932

TRACK SURFACING SCOPE Filed March 6, 1955 jai I INVENTOR & John L.1V 1[illan ATTORNEYS United States Patent TRACK SURFAClNG SCOPE John L. McMillan, Springfield, Ill., assignor to Brice E. Hayes, Chicago, Ill.

Application March 6, 1953, Serial No. 340,869

4 Claims. (CI. 33-60) This invention relates to optical instruments, and in particular to improvements in optical instruments used for surfacing railroad tracks.

Surveying instruments embodying telescopic sights have been used in the past for surveying railroad tracks, but these have been complicated, delicate of adjustment, expensive, and difl'icult to operate. The need for a simple surveying instrument which is accurate yet inexpensive and easy to use by relatively untrained employees has been a long felt need of the railroads.

Three point sighting is a method well understood and long used by railroad foremen to surface railroad tracks wherein the foreman places a spot board on one side of a dip in the track, rests a second board in the depression and then sights over a third sighting block or a peep sight which is the same level as the first mentioned block. Looking through this peepsight the foreman sights on the most distant spot board and instructs his road gang to raise the track until the top edge of the intermediate board reaches the level of his line of sight. The track is then level along these three points, and the gang then proceeds down the track to the next depression which needs surfacing.

The present invention contemplates the use of a multiple power telescope mounted on a base which is adapted to rest on the tread of a railroad track and to be used in place of the old conventional sighting block or peepsight. This telescope gives a clear view of the line on the spot board at distances well beyond the range of the unaided eye. Several advantages accrue from this application of a telescopic device. The use of this instrument insures that the most decisive spot can be picked for setting the spot board, thereby eliminating the discouragement a foreman encounters when he stands beside his track scanning the surface for the best high spot on which to place his spot board only to find that itis beyond the point at which he can see the line on his spot board distinctly. With a surfacing scope it is not necessary for a foreman to guess his way through short sags, nor does he have to set up his board so often, thereby delaying his jackmen and tampers. Furthermore, infrequent changes eliminate many mistakes made in setting the spot board, and the resulting new surface is actually smoother and not merely a replica of an old surface on a higher plane. If grade stakes are in use, fewer are needed since they can be set farther apart, and should a grade stake be knocked out or damaged, a spot board pay for the cost of this track surfacing scope.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple,

"ice

inexpensive, eflicient surveying instrument for use in surfacing railroad tracks.

It is another object of this invention to provide a surveying instrument for use in surfacing railroad tracks which is quickly set up, accurate, and easy to use by relatively unskilled laborers.

It is a still further object of this invention to provide a track surfacing scope which will rest on the tread of a railroad track without the need of clamping means of any sort.

Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved track surfacing scope which will enable a road gang foreman to work over greater distances without making frequent and time consuming changes in the setting of the spot board.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved track surfacing scope which will enable the skilled foreman with impaired vision to continue track surfacing work with accuracy and efliciency.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this application, and in which like numerals are used to designate like parts, throughout the same,

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing how this invention is used by a track foreman to sight on a spot board;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the track surfacing sco c;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the tracksurfacing scope;

' Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view of the track surfacing scope base taken along line 4-4 of Figure 2; v

Figure 5 is a rear elevation of the surfacing scope with parts in section taken along line 5-5 of Figure 2, and,

Figure 6 is a side elevation showing how the surfacing scope is used with spot boards to surface depressions in a railroad track.

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the track surfacing scope 10, Figures 2 and 5, comprises a telescope 11 and a vertical staff 12 which is secured to a flange like base 13 resting on a mounting block 14.

The telescope 11 is pivotally mounted on an L shaped .mounting bracket 15 which is rigidly secured to the top portion of the staff 12.

The means for mounting the telescope 11 on the mounting bracket 15 consists of a telescope sleeve 16 which supports the telescope and secures it against movement within the sleeve by means of Allen set screw 17. Sleeve 16 is machined fiat on one side 17', with the exception of a circular boss 18 which is centrally disposed on this flat surface for mating engagement with a hole 18' in the upstanding portion 19 of L-shaped bracket 15. A threaded stud 19 is threaded into and projects from boss 18. The fiat surface 17 of sleeve 16 is brought into pressure contact with upstanding portion 19 of bracket 15 by means of knurled knob 20 which threads onto stud 19' drawing sleeve 16 and bracket portion 19 together.

Knob 20 is locked against loosening by set screw 20' which is threaded through knob 20 into contact with stud Washers 20", are placed between bracket 19 and knob 20. The washer adjacent bracket 19 is of the plain variety and the washer adjacent knob 20 is of the locking variety. These washers provide a bearing surface between bracket 19 and knob 20, and further assist in locking knob 20 against rotation.

Although the telescope 11 is pivotally mounted for limited rotation about a horizontal 'pivot, in actual use the telescope must be parallel to the base 13 and the portion of the track upon which it rests. In order to maintain the telscope 11 in this working position an upstanding pin 21 is recessed in the top portion of staff 12 and spring biased by means of coil spring 22 for engagement in the 'mating recess 23 in the 'bottom or telescope sleeve "16. When the telescope 11 is approximately parallel to the .base-J34,,spr nal lnrge -pi l l wardly i t recesslfi thereby locking the telescope 11 in.,-;PaIal lel, rela,tion ship the base,13.

-.u -shap ,n rm nentma n Z4, besesh w i 31snres 3 and 5, ,aredisposedjn. a ,groove .or. .c hannel the bottom of mounting block 14.50 that-whenthesurfacing ,scopeisplaced on the. center portion pfthe tread 25 (Figgure siyofta railroad track,26 it Jzreldrigidly in place while the surfacing scope. is be ng tlsedrat this station.

Inasmuch as the length of spot boards A and B (Figure a6) Jane -un v r a th oueh tth a hoadi dust y,. ghe-heightnf .thetelesgripenbnve.the'traclcrnust be the same .as..t11e ;leng t h.,of,thespot .boards, staff 12 is made .vertically adjustableso .as..to-.acco mmo.da;e the telescope to the boards, whatever length they, may..be. Asshown ,in ,Eigure 5, staff .12 .is,..eo n 1prised .of a vertically ,adjust- .ablegpost .27 .anda,-stationery.tubular sleeve.28 adapted .to carry,po st,27. post.27.is calibrated in inches along its vertical axis. so .that .the .telescqpemayhe sighted on any ,spotboard varying :imheight fromjiz" tolapproximately 9". ,Of course :it is..contemplated that .the length .and :calibrations f post .27 may hevariedto suit anyparlicularrequirement. Theadjustment of Post 27 intubular sleeve 28 is accomplished vby hacking .ofi locking ,screw 29 by-.means of.lockin g,.knob 30. The height of the-telescope above-the track is indicated ,by .thereading at post portion 31 which appearsjn thehorizontal plane intersecting post 27 at the level of the uppermost portion .of -sleeve ,28.

The end portions of telescope 11 comprising eyepiece topticgfl .and object. optic. 33 -are,covered with protecting tubular segments of -,rubber ..or other .resilient .rnaterial .34-and 35 in:order.to ,guard theendportions -.of the-telescope against wearandtearand adverse efiectsfifthe weather. Knurled knobs-36. and 37.shown,o n theforward ,portionof telescope 11, FigureZ, .arefor the purpose ,of adjusting the vertical and horizontal cross-hairsof .the telescope. :The .verticalcross hair. is not usedinthissurfacing work, but a standard :fourpowerrifle telescope. has been foundto be verysatisfactoryandthevertical crosshair is left insthe-scope for whatever use may be made of ..it.

. In operation, the. surfacing scopeis placed on .the track ,(-Eigures .1, 4, and 6) where: it.is securelyheldby the magnets 24 in the mounting block 14. Knob .30 is backedofi .slightly and post27 is raised .or lowered, whichever the I .casemay be, until thereading atthe intersection ofpost -27 ,-and ,s1eeve :28,is the-'same, .as the.1ength of the spot boards :A and E (Figure .6) being used in thesurfacing -.work. When the. telescope 1 1.is adjusted to the level of .the ;spot. board A,,Figur e.6, knob 30 .is -rotated to bring s crew.,29 into contact with post.27, thereby holding post r27.and;sleeve 28.-securely together. Mounting block 14 may beacljusted horizontally so as to align the surfacing .scope with thespot board A. After'the foreman has aassumed. a position he .finds most convenient wherein to sightthrough the surfacingscope, as indicated in .Figure l, telescope 11 may. be rotated. into position whereby pin 21 snaps into mating recess .23 thereby automatically aligning the .telescope -parallel-to base 13. -When the ;t elescope-11-. is locked .in .this parallel position and the base 13 andmounting block 14.are aligned-so as to aim .the telescope at-thespotboard vA, horizontal cross hair .38. -is.the same height above thetrack as the top edge .of spot board A and will sosappear to the. foreman as he looks through the eye piece of.the.telescope. The inter- ..mediate. spot boardB, which isthesame length as spot .board.A will appear. somewhat below the line of vision between horizontalcross hairv 38 and the top edge of the sighting board-Adi, the track {Iiatthis intermediate posi- .tio below.the,gene ral..surface C ofthe track. ,BY givig h ppr pr a inst uctions tov raise th trac at this point, the foreman will know that the track has been properly surfaced when the top of the intermediate spot board B contacts the line of vision D between the surfacing scope 10 and the spot board A. Ordinarily in the usual surfacing operation it would be necessary, after one portion of the track has been surfaced, for the foreman to then pick up hispeepsight or sighting block and move down the track to some convenient place on the near side of the next low spot and repeat this operation. However, "with the-use of the surfacing scope-it -is not necessary for him to change his position at all since his range of vision has been multipled many times by use of the surfacing scope. It is merely necessary for the intermediate spotboard B tobe placed in the next depression in the track and spot board A some distance beyond this depression so as to give a good line of sight between the telescope and spot board A.

Alternatively, -if there are multiple depressions indicated b y ,a, b and c in a track within the range of the surfacing scope, the spot board A can be placedbeyond thelast depression c, and the surfacing scope 10 on the near side of theclosest depression a, as shown in Figure 6. Inthis way itwill be necessary to move the surfacing ,scope or.the,; spot board A to surface thetrack between these points. ,Instead, the gangcan start either at the .farthest..dprssion c (Figure 6) and work toward the foreman, surfacing depressions c, b, and a in this order, or..the gau g.n 1ay ,start at .the closest depression a and work. away from the ,foreman through depression b and atowandthespot heard A. In either case, it is only necessarytomoirethe intermediate board B from depression toldcpressionas each preceding depression is -proper- 1y,r aise ,d..in this manner. .Cqnsiderable time is saved with e onomy of motion whereinconstant relocation of .the peep sight is eliminated and the foreman can direct thetsurfacingoftmany portions of the ,track'from-one convenient location. The only limitationson the distanceover which the foreman can direct his crew frorn .Qnesightingstation are the power of the telescope, climatic conditions and the distance from which thegang canreceive understandable instructions from the foreman.

Thus it is seen that this track surfacing scope provides means .:for quickly and etficiently directing the surfacing Work of railroad gangs, ,and is so simple in structure and operationthat even the least skilled oflaborers would be .able..to use it. Furthermore, it is of rugged construction,.,sirnple to adjust and not easily taken out. of adjustment. :Becausethe magnet in the center of the .ase securely holds the surfacing scopeon the track against forces of vibration and shock, the surfacing scope is readily set .up:for 1 1-se,.and still because of the lack of the requirement for any clamping means on thetrack it .vmay be-readilyremoved from the track and replaced at the next position .in the shortest possible time.

'.The.spr ing biased pin locking means in addition to holdingthe telescope parallel .with its base, serves ,to protect the-telescope from being knocked out of alignment. .If the-telescope were rigidly secured to its sup- .porting post .antinadvertant blow against the telescope might 'knock it .out of alignment, but with the present spring biased pin andrecess arrangement, as above --described, .animpact on the telescope will cause the pinto slide out.of the recessand allow the telescope to pivot slightly, thereby' riding-with the blow. This is very importantsince it is-imperative that the telescope be -maintained-parallel to its base-and it is well known-that -all=instruments andtools employed on track-maintenance work and subject to hard and rough usage.

'It is to'be understood that the form ofmy invention,

iherewiths'hown and described, is tobe taken as apreferre embodiment. of the same and that various changes .inthe shape sizeandarrangement of parts may be re- I claim:

1.. A surfacing scope for measuring vertical displacement of a railroad track comprising a base, means carried by said base for securing the latter to the tread of a railroad track, a staff rigidly secured at its lower end to said base and extending upwardly therefrom, said staff including portions movable vertically with respect to each other and means for holding said portions in vertically adjusted position, a telescope, means for mounting said telescope on the upper end of said stalf for pivotal movement about a transverse horizontal axis, said telescope having a recess formed therein, and a spring biased member recessed in the upper end ofsaid staff, the upper portion of said member being adapted to enter said recess when said telescope is positioned parallel with said base.

2. A surfacing scope as defined in claim 1 wherein said base securing means comprises a permanent magnet secured to the bottom portion of said base for contact with the center portion of said track tread.

3. A surfacing scope as defined in claim 1 wherein said staff portions include a hollow sleeve secured to said base and a post slidable in said sleeve, said post being linearly calibrated along its longitudinal axis for indicating the height of said telescope above the track.

4. A surfacing scope as defined in claim 1 wherein said telescope mounting means comprises an L-shaped offset bracket having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion, said horizontal portion being rigidly secured to the upper end of said staff, said vertical portion being offset laterally from the vertical axis of said statf and having means for pivotally supporting the telescope thereon with the longitudinal axis of said staff intersecting the longitudinal axis of said telescope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 216,759 Randolph June 24, 1879 234,332 Randolph Nov. 9, 1880 420,245 Rose Ian. 8, 1890 803,435 Saegmuller Oct. 31, 1905 1,710,057 Heinrich Apr. 23, 1929 2,093,949 Baldwin Sept. 21, 1937 2,292,968 Peters Aug. 11, 1942 2,497,933 Devers Feb. 21, 1950 2,564,461 Bowers Aug. 14, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 840,496 France Ian. 16, 1939 

